This week in my garden: 6/22/13

This bed is a little crowded!  When the spinach is done in the other bed, I'm going to transplant the basil.  It's not getting enough sun.



Three growing heads of broccoli and one of cauliflower.  I think they still need a little time to grow before picking.  There are still some very tight places in the head.


Herbs drying on the patio.  I know there is thyme and basil but I'm not sure if the others are marjoram and oregano.  There is also a sink full of spinach.

Pumpkin  and potato flowers. Aren't those potato flowers pretty?

The beans are flowering also and the tomatoes are starting to create little green tomatoes.  The sweet peas along the fence started blooming this week.  I'm going to have to watch the pumpkin, it's spreading everywhere and I don't want it overrunning the other plants.  I'm hoping the other squash and cucumber will begin to spread out but they are a few weeks behind the pumpkin which was a decent size plant when I bought it.

Baa baa black sheep...

Today, after joining Robert for lunch at Olive Garden I went to the fairgrounds to enjoy the Black Sheep Gathering (http://blacksheepgathering.org/).

Unfortunately, the company who had the mink and cashmere yarns last year was not there this year so I wasn't able to get the mink yarn. I still found some lovely yarns.

Simon had to check them out- they smell funny and might be edible, you know!
From left to right: purple Skaska Designs 50/50 merino/silk blend 1125 yards, 100 grams lace weight 2 ply. Mulberry Skaska Designs 50/50 merino/silk blend 1057 yards, 94 grams lace weight 2 ply. Silver/gray Skaska Designs 55/45 silk/yak blend 1650 yards, 100 grams lace/thread weight 2 ply. Purple (yes, it's purple not blue) Teresa Ruch, 100% tencel yarn, 520 yards, 4 oz, 2 ply lace weight. The orange is the same.

The tencel has a gorgeous sheen- the orange looks like it is on fire in the sunlight. The silk merino also has a pretty sheen but softer and fuzzier. The silk/yak is very soft and reads more as silver than gray.

I'm pleased with my acquisitions but I'm now curious about knitting off a silk hankie or silk top. I decided on the tencel rather than buying the silk because it had more yardage- at least more certain yardage. I want to experiment with non-animal fibers because my SIL can't wear animal fibers. The sheen on the tencel was just so appealing I couldn't resist it.